July 17, 2012

Completely And Utterly Unqualified

President Obama said in a speech at the weekend that governments and not individuals create jobs, telling entrepreneurs: 'If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.'

He added: 'You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.'

It should come as no surprise that business leaders disagree, and they wasted no time punching back.

David Chavern, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that the basic idea behind Obama’s comments, and other similar sentiments expressed by allies, 'is really objectionable and offensive.'

'The problem with the Obama administration’s view, he wrote in a blog post, was that ‘it only looks at the good outcomes’ rather than what went before.

Mr Chavern wrote: ‘Success is apparently a collective effort - but where was that "collective" during the periods of risk-taking and failure? The vast majority of businesses fail. Period.

He added: 'Every day millions of people put their lives, savings, houses and families on the line and work 20 hours a day just to grab their small slice of the American dream. Where is the collective when all of this is going on? And if the collective is really responsible for success, how come everyone isn’t successful?

Also commenting on Obama's remarks was the president of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Dan Danne.

'What a disappointment to hear President Obama's revealing comments challenging the significance of America's entrepreneurs.

Mr Danne added: 'His unfortunate remarks over the weekend show an utter lack of understanding and appreciation for the people who take a huge personal risk and work endless hours to start a business and create jobs.'

Is anybody still wondering why the economy is struggling after three and a half years of Obama? For three and a half years Barack Obama has been trying to milk businesses for all they're worth, and we're seeing his results in every aenemic jobs report that comes out. November can't come soon enough.